EWING
— Behind locked glass doors, stacked tables and chairs and a few
cardboard boxes are all that is left of The Runway, the restaurant for
the last four years in the terminal at Trenton-Mercer Airport.
The
restaurant’s managers and county officials had agreed to the closure
and the space was vacated yesterday, Mercer County spokeswoman Julie
Willmot said. The lease was terminated after the management was unable
to pay the minimum rental amount owed to the county, she said.
“The lease was procured competitively and therefore Mercer County was unable to negotiate lower rent,” Willmot said.
County
officials said they will consider the financial viability and demand
for a restaurant at the airport before putting the lease out to bid
again.
“The county is always evaluating the configuration of the
air terminal to maximize the operational needs of the airport,” Willmot
said. “The viability of any restaurant will be a consideration in
determining whether it is an appropriate fit for the terminal space.”
Willmot
said county officials will strive to provide access to some level of
food service at the airport. When asked if the county might use the
former Runway space for something other than a restaurant, she said the
county would consider all options.
Art Adams, who ran the
restaurant with his wife, Sue Adams, and his mother, Carol Adams, was
working to clear out the last of their things at the restaurant
yesterday. He declined to comment on the restaurant’s closing.
Posted
on both doors to The Runway’s dining room was a letter from the
management and staff, saying they were closing the restaurant with
“heavy hearts.”
“While we have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity
to serve the community here in Mercer County over these past four
years. It is now time for us to pursue other business opportunities,”
the letter read. “Every one of you has touched our lives and we are most
grateful for your friendship.”
One of those patrons, Mervin
Dissinger of Lower Makefield, Pa., said he was disappointed to find the
restaurant shuttered when he visited on Wednesday. The retired pilot
said he enjoyed watching the planes take off and land while he grabbed a
bite to eat.
“It was all locked up,” Dissinger said. “They always provided me good service.”
Dissinger
said he thought that with the success of Frontier Airlines’ new
commercial flights the restaurant might have been able to turn a profit.
Frontier
Airlines began flying out of the Ewing airport in November, offering
cheap flights to Orlando, Fla. The Denver company has already announced
it will expand service to Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers, Fla.
and to New Orleans. The company said yesterday it will make another
announcement on expanded service on Monday but did not provide further
details.
The Runway restaurant had been struggling, and in
September county officials said they had received only partial rental
payments for six months. The freeholder board voted to end the lease
agreement with the restaurant’s management early, giving the county the
option of putting the lease out to bid and finding a new tenant.
At
that time Sue Adams said the family was not making enough money to pay
the $96,460 a year in rent. The annual rent had been negotiated down
from $99,354, county attorney Sarah Crowley said in September. Any loss
in revenue would have to be passed on to the taxpayer, Crowley said.
The Runway opened in December 2008 after Carol Adams made the sole bid on the five-year lease.
The
restaurant became available when General’s Quarters, which previously
occupied the space, closed abruptly earlier that year.
Story and Reaction/Comments: http://www.nj.com
September 2012: Trenton-Mercer Airport's Runway restaurant could lose its lease
The Runway Restaurant: http://therunwayonline.com
Trenton Mercer Airport (KTTN), New Jersey: http://www.airnav.com/KTTN
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